CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Two Southwest Florida bridges are set to receive repairs, with Lee County commissioners scheduled to vote on funding and operations next week. The Matlacha drawbridge, which has been inoperable since Hurricane Ian, could soon be functioning again.
FOX 4's Bella Line spoke with people on the bridge about the project:
The Lee County Board of Commissioners will vote on August 5 on who will be completing the $3.6 million repair project for the Matlacha bridge. County officials say Lee County would only contribute $25,500 toward the total cost.
Hector Noa, who has been fishing at the bridge for 30 years, believes the repairs are overdue.
"The bridge doesn't open up, and the lights have been knocked down and they haven't been repaired, and it's about time they do something about that," Noa said. "I've had people tell me that they've stumbled and are falling down because they couldn't see where they were going."
John Strzalka, another fisherman who frequents the area, questions whether the money could be better spent elsewhere.
"It just seems like be a waste of money to spend money to open it back up," Strzalka said.
Strzalka notes that the bridge is one of the few places in Southwest Florida where people can deep-water fish without a boat. He says that when the drawbridge was operational, it created significant traffic delays.
"Before Ian, you had maybe four boats a day would come through, and so the drawbridge would open up, and when it opens up, traffic backs up for, you know, 75 people on each side for a half an hour until it clears out. It's, you know, you disrupt the lives of 150 people so that one boat can go through," Strzalka said.
According to county officials, work on the Matlacha bridge is scheduled to begin in September and should take approximately six months to complete. The bridge lanes will remain open throughout the repairs, though periodic opening and closing of the drawbridge will occur during the project.
The commissioners will also discuss funding for the Cape Coral Bridge replacement during the same meeting. Construction on that project is expected to begin in early 2028.
Lee County says you can follow along with road conditions here.
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